Thiruvananthapuram: Karkkidakam, the last month of Malayalam calendar, is known for devotion, prayers, physical and mental cleansing and over all, reciting of the great epic Ramayana.
Temples are all set for reciting Ramayana. It begins on the first day of the month of Karkkidaka, also known as the month of Ramayana , and ends on the thirty first day, the last day of Malayalam calendar. This month is a time of new hope and expectation for prosperity, as next month, Chingam, comes with agricultural abundance and Onam.
Apart from reciting in temples, the epic is read in the homes of devotees as well. It is rendered in such a way that Ramayana will be completed on the final day of Karkkidakam. Various Hindu organisations conduct recitations and religious programmes based on Ramayana.
Swami Vivekananda explained that Shri Rama is the personification of the ultimate self, the absolute reality. Sita is the portrayal of the Jivatman or the individual soul or the false notion of the true self. ‘Lanka’ where Sita was held by Ravana is the body, mind complex which has the individual soul imprisoned within it. The Rakshasas represent the characteristic traits or Gunas of the body like the Sattva, Tamas and Rajas.
This year, Ramayana masam begins today and ends on August 16. Nalambala darsanam, the visit to the four temples of Sri Rama and his siblings is done in this month.
